Powering Your Business with HPC

HPC (High Performance Computing) cloud environments have fast become the premier Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model for successful business. Setting the scene, they create the following benefits over an in-house IT architecture:

• Optimally responsive servers can handle high demand and create awareness.
• Efficient data warehousing connects big data with business analytics.
• Resilient hardware structure eliminates downtime through improved availability.
• Migrating to cleaner data structures in the cloud empowers all stakeholders.
• Optimising IT as a function connects people, processes, operations and services.

Companies cannot remain idle when it comes to deploying IT that will serve them today and elevate them as a leader in their industry tomorrow. Every business sector today is highly competitive. Success can only be achieved if you handle the volumes and complexities of data at your disposal, with speed and agility. HPC cloud hosting not only helps businesses keep pace with new technologies, but breaks through boundaries that are created by an increasingly globalised and technologically reliant society.

HPC in the cloud therefore becomes a game-changer in the way a business can outperform its competitors. Because of the advancement in computer processing power, collaborative software and cloud storage capacity, those that have the right IT base will be able to differentiate and innovate because they can handle pervasive users and an avalanche of data requirements better than anyone else.

This is essential for any business trying to meet the stringent requirements placed upon them in 2013. For information governance, energy consumption, customer retention, etc. transitioning to cloud based HPC offers far greater scalability for your business. Certainly when considering the challenges of maintaining a traditional IT infrastructure that gradually fails to meet user demand, fails to deliver real-time insights and fails to provide a continuously available service.

HPC is all about data movement

The movement of data can transform your business. As the rapid increase in data volume, velocity and variety (the 3 V’s of big data) challenge every level of an organisation, HPC offers significant opportunities to accelerate business.

Whether as an outsourced ‘managed’ or internally ‘self-serviced’ platform, HPC cloud environments create the foundation upon which reliable and scalable business can evolve. Supporting staff, engaging customers, nurturing partners, in a technology obsessed world, revolves around data movement that transforms then resonates around you. Thereby improving your ability to make critical decisions in the right order, at the right time and with the right people.

HPC offers the essential components to making IT an enabler, not a disabler, for your business. Whereas traditional IT is fast becoming a major bottleneck to success, with an HPC cloud IaaS, companies are better equipped to handle data, workflow and resources through a consolidated and modernised technology base that is flexible at scale.

In every regard these are challenging times for business. IT budgets are tight, expertise is hard to find. HPC cloud hosting unequivocally solves these problems, through high-speed performance and reliability of IT that drives down TCO and allows businesses to maximise ROI. The right HPC cloud environment has that kind of power.

Top places where to get attention for your brand

Handing out free gifts to members of the public is a fantastic way to publicise the launch of new products and/or campaigns, as well as raise brand awareness of your business. However, if this is a promotional strategy you are thinking of adopting for your business, you need to act carefully to ensure that it will be successful.

While distributing promotional products – whether they are memory sticks, caps, pens or T-shirts – is almost a surefire way to boost an organisation’s profile, it would be a mistake to think you don’t have to put in any effort or time into thinking how exactly you will distribute them. As obvious as it probably sounds, you should look to give out products in places where there will be a significant audience to receive them. After all, what’s the point in having items to hand out if there are not enough people to give these to?

Here’s a rundown of some of the best places for organisations to hand out promotional gifts.

Train stations - Distributing free items near train stations is a great way to appeal to commuters – both in the morning when they are on their way to work, and also when they are going home. Bear in mind that stations tend to be less busy during the middle of the day, so by midmorning you may want to consider handing out free gifts in other parts of town until the start of the evening rush hour.

Shopping centres - As shopping centres tend to have lots of people in them throughout the day – and especially during the weekend – they provide a fabulous opportunity to promote your company. Whether you choose to set up a stall and encourage shoppers to come to you or have a team who wander around and proactively hand out branded items to passersby, there should be a wide audience to market your brand to. Giving away products such as promotional USB sticks and pens in a shopping mall can prove a particularly good way for retailers and food vendors that have stores situated elsewhere in the outlet to improve footfall.

Sports stadiums - If you are looking to promote your brand among sports fans, consider distributing promotional items at stadia. Having a team of staff give away promotional items close to a sports ground in the build-up to a game (as well as after the match has finished) should ensure a winning start to your promotional campaign.

As well as deciding which places are most effective to hand out free products, it is worth considering what particular items are best to give out. This will depend on exactly who your target audience is and your budget, but as a general rule you should hand out items that are small enough to be easily carried around. Pens and badges certainly fall into this category, as do caps, teddy bears and balloons.

What are your opinions on the most effective ways to develop a buzz about a business? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

If your finances are in a mess, now is the time to take control. Sit down and work out exactly how much you owe and who you owe it to. Be honest or you’ll only store up more problems for the future. If your debt repayments take more than 20 per cent of your net monthly income you are entering a danger zone and must take steps to cut back. Writing down your incoming money and outgoing expenses is a great way to organise your finances and will help you see exactly where your money is going. When you start looking at your spending habits, you might be surprised by how much money you spend on small items that you could easily live without.

If you’re in a hole, the first step is to stop digging, see if you can stop any non-essential spending. If you have a major problem with credit cards, cut them up. If you’re not so bad with credit cards, at least put them away and don’t buy stuff online for one month. What’s essential? Obviously your bills, housing, auto, gas, groceries… Non-essential? Clothing, CDs, DVDs, books, magazines, gadgets.

Also try to switch to a cheaper loan or credit card and try different providers. You’ll probably be able to find a credit card or loan with a better rate than you’re paying now – particularly for transferred balances on cards (watch out for balance transfer fees). But remember that these special offer rates will rise considerably after an initial interest-free period – make a note in your diary to change deals again. Then start making regular payments to your creditors, even if you can only pay them a small amount. If your creditors see that you are committed to sorting out your debt, they will give you some leeway while you figure out your long term repayment strategy.

Stay away from payday loans! Payday loans are among the worst financial products out there. They may seem like a good idea because they are relatively easy to get, but there are some very good reasons to stay away from payday loans. A payday loan is simply a short term loan that companies such as Wonga offer to people, with the idea that it is to help people out who are perhaps short of money at the end of the month or have something unexpected they need to pay for. One such example they gave was: “When your mates tell you about finding a deal on plane tickets to the Canary Islands, you’ve got some options. Maybe you don’t have the money to pay for the whole thing now, but you will when you get your wages at the end of the week. Enter, Wonga” This may sound reasonable, what may to not be reasonable is the cost of taking out the loan. If a loan of £400 is taken out over a period of 30 days, it will cost £125 in interest and fees!!

The ease of renewal is another reason to avoid payday loans. It is so easy to get trapped in the payday loan cycle of debt.Payday loans have extortionately high interest rates. It’s important to be aware of what you are paying for and how much you are being charged so you can look at cheaper alternatives.

Payday lending can be extremely expensive with charges of up to £30 per £100 borrowed. Some even have an APR of around 2,000%! Interest can rapidly build up if payments are not made on time and soon become more of a debt than the original loan. More often than not there are additional fees – such as paying more to have the loan within a shorter amount of time. In the short term I hope people can be made aware of the practices of these lenders but in the long term we need to see better regulation by Westminster and an effective cap on the rates of APR running into the thousands of percent.

Instead of blindly sending out cv to every help-wanted ad in your field, target companies and positions that are the right match and tailor your cover letters accordingly. Job seekers take note: While employers still use headhunters to vet candidates, especially for senior positions, increasingly they are relying on cv scanning software and online “assessment” tests to do an initial sort of the wheat from the chaff. Here are some top tips to incorporate into your job search approach to get you ahead of the crowd.

Firstly be prepared and decide what types of companies would suit your interests. Think about any contacts that may help you. Get organized. Does your industry or line of work offer little promise of employment in the coming months? If so, now is a good time to step back to identify the projected top performing industries and jobs. The best place to find this info is on the web through Google or Yahoo.

Also dont just rely on clasified ads. Most experts believe that very few job openings are advertised through classified ads, so if you’re pinning all of your job hopes on the few weekly help-wanted ads in your area, you might be searching a while. Do your homework. Find out about companies that are hiring and do some research on these companies. Also Be sure to have a cv that is specifically tailored to the industry in which you are searching. Make it stand out, such as by adding a photo or design elements. Many companies now use software that searches cv’s for keywords specific to the qualifications they’re looking for. So if you ensure your cv addresses the specific skills and experience required for the position, it’s much more likely to pass through for further evaluation.

Many people seem to think that second jobs are taxed at a higher rate, however this is not always the case. In the first instance, it is important to note that you have one non-taxable personal allowance per year, regardless of the number of jobs you have. For the 2012-13 tax year, this is set at £8,105 if you are under 65 years old. This non-taxable allowance will apply to just one of your jobs. As such, you will probably receive your allowance on your first job, meaning that the first £8,105 earned from this source will be free from tax. However, once you have used that allowance, all other income will be taxed at the normal rate. You will be taxed 22% on your income from your second job. The HM Revenue and Customs website states that any income from any secondary jobs will be taxed at 22%.

If the amount you earn on your second job is below £97.00 if being paid weekly, or £420.00 if being paid monthly; then you can get the income from the second job tax free.The higher tax rate does not relate to the number of jobs you may do. It is all about how much you actually earn in one job or three or more jobs. You need to be earning in excess of £8,105 per tax year before the higher rate kicks in. Its likely there will be complications with more than one job as you will get your tax allowance on job no 1 and on job no 2 you will pay tax on all your earnings.

According to research by Which? 55% of people have never moved current account. It thinks people would be more likely to do so if they had portable account numbers. In fact we very rarely choose our own bank. That’s strange, isn’t it? Most people are with their banks because they have always been and their parents have always done their banking with them too. However, it’s an important decision to make, yet is not one that we seems to make for ourselves. If we’re staying with a financial provider because it’s easier than looking around for a better deal, we’re not helping ourselves at all. If we know there might be something better out there, them it’s time to move on. It can be intimidating to switch banks, but the process is easy if you break it into separate tasks, so follow these simple steps to switching you current account.

First thing first, it is worth it? So you’re dissatisfied with your bank. You may be angry, disappointed, and earning less than the national average. But does it make sense to change banks? It’s worth taking the question seriously before you move forward. If not then stay put.

Next try to find out which banks benefit your individual needs and which ones don’t. This may seem time consuming, but will be worth it in the end.  Once it’s up and running the better. You can’t switch banks unless you’ve got somewhere to go. Make a deposit into the account, wait for it to clear, and wait for your debit card to arrive.  If you have direct deposit going into your old account, start having those payments directed towards the new account asap. You may need to transfer money between your old and new account to cover any direct debits that are due to come out. There may even be a few mistakes along the way, but don’t worry! Try to keep your old account open for as long as you need to, then once you are sure there is nothing further attached to that account, close it down.

So there are new fears that the future of free cash withdrawals is under threat after a nationalised bank barred one million of its customers using cash machines belonging to rivals. The Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 83 per cent owned by the taxpayer, will soon stop its ‘basic’ RBS and NatWest account holders from using other banks’ ATM machines. Already, up to two million customers with ‘basic’ accounts at Lloyds Banking Group, which is 41 per cent owned by the tax payer, are prevented from using other banks’ machines.

Not only that, but Natwest and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have created a set of new over-the-counter cash withdrawal charges and both part of the RBS group, will soon charge fees to take out money at rival bank counters in the UK and abroad. Customers will even be charged when withdrawing at an RBS branch counter, and RBS customers will be charged at a Natwest branch, despite both being part of the same organisation. Natwest Visa debit card holders will pay 1.5% of any amount withdrawn (minimum £2, maximum £4.50) at a non-Natwest branch counter. Historically banks have reimbursed each other to the tune of 25p-30p every time a customer uses another banks’ machine. But if banks start to pull out, the entire system could collapse. It is feared that customers could be forced to use cash machines that charge or that banks will pass the costs of withdrawing money on in the form of higher charges.

Banks love students. It’s proven that you’re likely to stick with the bank you choose for your student finances for life. It is also essential to open a student bank account for your time at University. So it’s a good idea to do this before you start University, especially if you are applying for a student loan as the money will be paid directly into your bank account.

There are different bank accounts available so shop around to find the best deal to suit your needs, like an interest-free overdraft or online banking service. It’s important to know which banks will be accessible to you when you’re at university or college, so check that there’s a branch on or near to your campus. Student accounts tend to be loaded with fresher-friendly deals, like interest-free overdrafts, discounts on computer equipment and music, and even rail discount cards. But don’t be lured by freebies alone. Take time to compare student bank accounts and find the best deal for you.

With mounting student debt, having a huge free overdraft if you don’t really need one can be seen as an unnecessary temptation. So a large free overdraft facility might not always be the best thing to go for. But for those that need it to finance their time at university it can be a helping hand, as long as you don’t fritter it away. Usually, with student current accounts, banks don’t charge account fees, but make sure you look into how long this will last. Some students have complained about banks charging them extra if they are overdrawn whilst at uni, or upon graduating, with banks bringing ‘new’ terms in. The truth is, these terms have always been there, it’s just a question of you understanding the information supplied to you.

After 350 years the death of the cheque is now upon us! The use of cheques has declined by as much as 40 per cent in the last five years as bank customers turn to online banking to do electronic transfers instead. However, critics attacked the decision as “scandalous”, saying it ignored the needs of some of Britain’s most vulnerable people, including the elderly, who may not have any other means of payment.

However people who use cheques on a regular basis may be a dwindling band, but there are good reasons why many people and businesses still rely on them.  In 2000 cheques still accounted for 13 per cent of all payments; this figure is now down to 5 per cent. And the rate of decline is accelerating; over the next decade cheques are expected to account for just 2 per cent of all payments, although a spokeswoman for Apacs admits this projection may be a little optimistic “given the rather aggressive stance taken by some retailers”. She adds: “The death of the cheque, at least on the high street, is really gathering speed.”

Many banks are now even claiming that the 350 year old cheque is on its last legs. Yet while usage has dropped almost two-thirds since the peak of 1990, four million are still written every day. The Payments Council, a trade body of clearing banks which meets today, reckons usage will slump another 60% by 2018. But even by its gloomy predictions that is still 1.5 million every day. Whether you are an individual or a business, you need to have a think about how you will replace your use of cheques in future.

So whilst banks may prefer their customers to use cards or online banking, many people still aren’t comfortable with new technologies. One of the groups most reliant on cheques is the elderly, many of whom have no computer and little inclination to learn about technology. So is the death of the cheque really a good idea?